The Murderer's Son
by 90TheGeneral09
Summary: Calvin goes home with Rachel on April 29, 2001, and creates a legacy for himself that he never intended.


**Chapter 1**

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 **A/N: I got this idea from a brief and incomplete story I found on some other website containing Zero Day fanfiction. May have been Archive of Our Own, but I'm not sure. The story I found was titled similarly to this one, "The Psychopath's Son" or "The Murderer's Son" or somesuch. I remember nothing about it beyond some idea of the title. My idea for the story is based off that one's basic premise. I got a first chapter written in late 2017, with the help of a user called "calgabriel", who provided feedback on the basic idea and assisted with basic details of it.**

 **In fact, if you like this story, thank calgabriel, because it was their feedback that convinced me this was a viable story idea and got me to start writing it in the first place. I worked in some details from calgabriel's second story, "Explain It To Me". I try, as best I can, to be respectful of other works in the fandom. They can't all be interconnected, but when you can do a little of that, it's kind of fun. Anyway, on to the story.**

* * *

Cal had been bored out of his mind all night. April 29th, two days to go… and here he was, wasting time at the Prom. He'd heard about it as far back as elementary school, in the goddamn fifth grade. Like it was gonna be the pinnacle of your existence in high school, or something.

 _Yeah_ , Cal thought with real bitterness. _What a great four years this turned out to be. 'Best years of your life', my ass._

Three years of drudgery-at-best, living-Hell-at-worst in middle school had given way to four more of the same here in high school. Cal was tired of this, putting up with a system run by dim-witted hypocrites as if it was his duty to just suck it up and be a good boy, and go along with it. The jocks and the kids with rich parents- often one and the same- were the only ones who really got to have any fun in high school anymore, it seemed. They lived high school the way everyone supposedly could, but in Cal's observations, you had to be in The Club- the athletes, the rich kids.

And if you weren't in The Club? You had no chance. You wasted your time even trying.

Asking Rachel to the Prom had been Cal's idea, and one Andre hadn't taken that well. He and Cal had been friends since the seventh grade, when they'd met during PE class in the fall of that year. By now, they were the best kind of friends, as close as brothers. So Andre, without understanding why Cal had wanted to go to the Prom at all, especially with Rachel Lurie, had accepted that the blond clearly wanted to do it.

He was a little more annoyed than normal, given how vital it was that they spend what little time remained before Zero Day getting ready, both with their gear and mentally. But Cal had agreed that he'd be over as soon as he was done at the Prom, and with that he and Andre had made plans for later tonight. That had satisfied Andre, who would be spending the hours when Prom would be going on working at the pizza restaurant he'd been with for the last year. Andre insisted, when they'd talked about it, that he wasn't going to the Prom because he didn't want to go, not because he didn't have anyone he could've gone with. Cal didn't press him on it, but he wondered.

Andre was always angry. Whether about homework, his job, jocks, rich kids, or life in general, Andre was always pissed off about something. He was always angry, and it often showed, making him someone a lot of kids steered clear of. Andre seemed like he not only didn't mind, but he actually seemed to enjoy it, if Cal pointed it out to him.

"After what I went through in middle school," Andre had said once, "I don't care what I have to do. I'm not going through that ever again."

The upside was that Andre Kriegman was left alone a lot more these days than in middle school, but to him- and to Cal, to be fair- it was still not enough. Neither one of them had ever really been treated fairly.

But the down side, Cal felt, was that Andre let his anger get in the way of things sometimes. Obsessed with making sure nobody ever fucked with him again, Andre focused on that. He didn't seem to realise that if you wanted to get laid, for example, the unbridled fury Andre kept simmering just below the surface wasn't going to help. In fact, it would do much the opposite.

Calvin Gabriel, on the other hand, was no less angry, no less furious at the bullshit he'd been putting up with for what seemed like, by now, his entire life. But he kept it deep inside him, where nobody could see it- unless he wanted them to. Andre, he knew everything. He knew how badly Cal wanted to get a move on, kick things up a notch and show everyone what happened if you let dim, shallow hypocrites run things long enough. He and Cal had spent over a year getting ready for May 1st, 2001, and it was going to be the best day of their lives. It would also be their last.

But that was the price, the cost of living one day with the power to decide who lived and who died. The power to live in complete freedom, where no one could stop you and no one could get in your way, ever again. Cal wanted that more than anything else in the world. He, and Andre, had together decided that Zero Day was what they wanted to do with their lives.

So why hadn't he just gone home today and waited for Andre to get off work? They could've had that much more time to hang out, and time with Andre was never wasted- especially this close to the big day. It was so exciting; Cal got a rush just thinking about it.

Maybe it was the fact that Cal had actually gone into this, somehow still hoping the Prom would be what everybody had said it would be. That after all the lies he'd been told about so many other things in his life, Cal would finally get to find one of them was true.

Of course, as usual, Calvin had been disappointed. He wasn't surprised by that. He had stopped being surprised when life let him down a long time ago.

 **XX**

Calvin sat uncomfortably in the back of the rented Lincoln Town Car limousine. He was uncomfortable because the teenagers around him were all carrying on, seeming quite happy to basically yell in his ear like they'd been doing on the ride to Iroquois for Prom. Christ. Calvin wished they would shut their damn traps. He had never liked being around large numbers of people, and these was a case of too loud as well as too many.

That was not the only reason Cal was uncomfortable, though. He was also uncomfortable because he had an erection. He had a hard-on from looking at Rachel. She looked great in that dress; it hugged all her curves, made Calvin realize just how eye-catching she really was. And she was definitely a virgin, too, so she'd be really tight… oh, man. Calvin made himself look away from her, stopped himself from eying her chest for like the tenth time. He was gonna need to change his pants if he didn't cut this out.

Andre was expecting Calvin. He'd promised he'd be right over once Prom was done with. He had promised Andre that. But looking at Rachel, thinking, and getting an idea that he liked a little too much to say no to, Calvin never pressed the intercom button to tell the driver to take him to Andre's house. He never did. Instead, he spoke up, raised his voice until they had to listen, and said he would wait until last, let everyone else get home. They all appreciated that, and Rachel seemed to think that was really nice. Calvin smiled modestly, shyly, awkwardly. Like he always did.

They didn't know, any of them. They didn't understand. Didn't suspect a thing.

Perfect.

 **XX**

When it was just the two of them in the limo, Cal moved to sit beside Rachel. She started to tell the driver to take them to his house first, but Cal gently stopped her. "What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't see my lady home first?" Cal asked.

To emphasize his point, he reached out and took her hand and kissed it.

Rachel stared at him for a moment, then giggled. "Wow. You can be so nice, Cal. Seriously, like- yeah. Thank you. Okay, sure." She pressed the intercom button and told the driver the address she lived at.

"Happy, Sir Calvin?" she asked, looking at him.

"Not until my lady is safely returned to her castle," Calvin answered.

Rachel laughed. "Cal, I wish everybody knew you could be like this. You'd have so many girlfriends if they did."

"It's why I keep it a secret," Cal whispered conspiratorially. "I don't want to get mobbed."

They both laughed, carefree and easy and sure in their sense of teenage immortality. Rachel's laugh was probably quite genuine in that sense. Cal's was just a really good imitation.

 _She has no idea_ , Cal thought, watching her. _She has no idea what's coming. This is almost pitiful_.

 **XX**

As the Town Car stopped at Rachel's house, Cal got out first and helped Rachel out after him. He then waved the driver off, telling him to head out.

"Cal?" Rachel asked curiously.

"I gotta see you to your door. I don't want him to have to wait, you know."

"How are you getting home, then?"

"I guess your mom or dad can give me a ride?"

"They're out of town this weekend."

"Oh. Well, I'll figure something out."

"Do you want to come in?" Rachel asked suddenly. She fidgeted nervously with her long brown hair. "I mean, you could sit down for a few minutes. You've been standing up all evening."

"Uh, sure," Cal said, convinced he had to look as awkward as he felt. "Okay. Yeah."

Rachel got out the door key from under the mat, and she unlocked the door after a couple tries.

Calvin stepped into the darkened house just as Rachel pulled the door shut behind them. It made the two teenagers jump, and they both laughed nervously, looking as awkward as each of them felt. Calvin's collar felt too tight, and his pants felt too tight and it was too hot in here. But he was gonna go for this. He would try. After all this time of maybe, maybe not between him and Rachel… well, he was gonna die really soon. It didn't matter anymore. Might as well be just like Brad Huff and the rest of those jock assholes and try to "get some". Just for once.

But he wasn't really gonna do it. No way. Rachel would suspect something, or she wouldn't be interested, or he'd mess up if he tried it. Goddamn it. Cal knew he had to stay cool, cool. He had to keep calm. Don't let her know what he was thinking of. This was probably not gonna go anywhere, anyway.

"So, uh, I mean, we got, like, the living room if you wanna watch some TV or something," Rachel suggested, forcing a smile. She reached for a light switch, then another, and got the downstairs of the house lit up some.

"I'd actually really like to get out of these dress shoes," Calvin said. "I swear, next Prom-thingy I do, I'm just wearing t-shirt and jeans. Seriously."

"I know!" Rachel exclaimed. "I have got to get out of these heels, they're killing me! This dress, I dunno, I guess it _looks_ nice, but you can have it!"

"Me? You want me to have it?" Calvin chuckled. "I guess I could try it on-"

"Cal," Rachel said, looking at him with exasperation. "I mean I don't wanna wear it all night!"

 _Me neither_ , Cal thought, and he blushed. Quickly trying to hide that, he just looked down at the floor, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, yeah. I wouldn't wanna wear a dress all night, either."

"You boys have it so easy. You don't have to wear _heels_." Rachel looked down at them. "Ugh. I am so glad I don't have to do this again in high school, Cal."

"It's almost over, thank God," Cal said. "Pretty soon we'll be done and out of here."

"I know, I can't wait."

"Hey," Cal said suddenly, "how about I, you know, help you out of your shoes? I mean, I said I'd see you to your door, but… I mean, what if you, like, got stuck in those heels and the Fire Department had to come get you out?"

Rachel laughed. "You're so funny, Cal."

"No, I mean it," Cal said, grinning. "Like, you end up not being able to get the shoes off, right, like… what if I left now and you wound up trying to get out of those shoes the rest of the night? Uh, so… I should be a gentleman and help you out. With that."

Rachel looked at him, hesitated. "Uh, my tennis shoes are up in my room. I guess we can go and see if I can get out of them. I just hope we don't have to get the Fire Department over here for that." She chuckled.

"I'll help, don't worry," Calvin assured her.

"Thanks, Cal," Rachel said. "You're so nice."

"Lead on, my lady," Calvin said, bowing to her and gesturing toward the stairs.

 **XX**

Calvin was nervous as they went upstairs, and it didn't really help that Rachel was, too. They both made silly jokes, laughed awkwardly, and generally made a big deal how anxious neither of them was. They were having a little more fun, a final couple of minutes before Prom night came to an end. Calvin was just being a gentleman and seeing Rachel up to her room like a gentleman. This wasn't going anywhere. It wouldn't escalate. Of course not. That was exactly why neither of the two teenagers was nervous. Not a bit.

After they got up to her room and stood around a minute, Calvin made a show of sitting Rachel down on the side of her bed, and taking off each of her high-heeled shoes. He gently removed each shoe and kissed each foot, making Rachel giggle endlessly. Calvin then gently massaged each of her feet, insisting it was to help her relax, get some of that tension out of her feet.

He had no idea how to do that, but apparently Rachel liked it. She let him go on with it for a few minutes, sighing as she relaxed.

"Thanks, Cal," Rachel said. "I can't tell you how good this feels."

I can think of some things I could do to you, and you could do to me, that would feel even better, Cal thought. Only at the last second did he manage to keep himself from saying it.

Instead, Cal continued gently massaging Rachel's feet. He looked up and gave her one of his shy smiles. "Glad to help."

Eventually, Calvin stood up and sat down uncertainly on the side of Rachel's bed. He wasn't sure how to proceed. He'd acted funny as he usually did, and tried to be nice as he usually did. Now what? What did he do? Jesus, this was stupid..

"What's up, Cal?"

Rachel sat up beside him.

"I don't know," Calvin answered honestly.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know what's up."

"So what're you doing?"

"Not knowing what's up."

"I mean besides that," Rachel replied, her voice light and amused.

"Being Cal Gabriel."

Rachel laughed. "So what does Cal Gabriel do?"

"Whatever it is Cal Gabriel does."

"And what is that?" Rachel was shaking now, trying to keep it together.

Making a blindly impulsive decision, Calvin grinned and lunged at her. "He tickles people!"

"Cal!" she exclaimed, but he was on her with both hands, tickling her mercilessly. She rolled back onto the bed to get away, but Calvin rolled with her. The two teens wrestled and wriggled, one trying to get free and the other trying to prevent that. Then Rachel started ticking Calvin back, and he cracked up laughing. He almost let go, but didn't. He wasn't letting go this easy.

"Cal, come on," Rachel giggled.

"No, I'm not," Cal said, "I'm not- ha ha ha! I'm not, uh, no, hold still!"

"You're pretty ticklish," Rachel said, going for him again. Cal giggled. "Come on," she said, "you have, like, three layers of clothing on! You got that jacket and then the dress shirt, and a shirt under that!"

"So?"

"It's making you less ticklish! I just have the dress! That's not fair, Cal," Rachel insisted.

"Okay," Cal said, sitting up. He unbuttoned his black dress jacket, and tossed it aside. Then he undid his bowtie, and unbuttoned his dress shirt, revealing the plain white t shirt he had on under that.

"Cal?" Rachel asked.

"Hey, one layer each, right? Like, you have a dress, I should just have one shirt. I want to be fair."

Rachel laughed. "Okay, okay. You're such a gentleman."

"I'm still gonna tickle you!" Cal said, and he leapt for her again. She dodged him this time, though, and Cal was briefly pinned, helpless and laughing, as Rachel tickled him. He lay there and focused on working one of his shoes off. He got the right shoe loose and kicked it; it made a loud thump as it hit the floor.

"What?" Rachel said, sitting up.

Calvin sprang up then, and he pinned Rachel again, and he tickled her all over her torso, anywhere he could reach besides her chest. Rachel laughed and laughed, still trying to struggle.

"No! Fair!" she gasped.

"What? What now?"

"No fair!" Rachel said again.

"Oh," Cal said, with mock surprised. "You mean this." He reached and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it away.

Rachel looked at him, and the look on her face made Calvin pause. She was really, really looking at him. She was impressed. Calvin had never imagined anybody would ever like the look of him with his shirt off, but here he was, getting that look from Rachel…

But he wasn't about to let her get one up on him like that. He was going to win this little game they were playing.

"Up here," Cal said, motioning. "I'm up here."

"Cal," Rachel said uncertainly, "why did you, uh, take your shirt off?"

"Because, uh, I thought you said I was wearing too many clothes."

"I did, but, um… I didn't mean take your clothes off."

"You said to do that! You did!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Maybe you wanted to see me with my shirt off."

Rachel blushed furiously. "I never said that."

Calvin smirked. "You were thinking it, though. You seriously blushed just now."

"Okay, now you're in trouble!" Rachel declared, and she pounced. Calvin fell back and they continued wrestling. He noticed she was touching him more than she had been, and under the guise of 'tickling' him, or trying to 'pin' Calvin on the bed, she started feeling his arm and shoulder muscles.

"I'm in trouble?" Calvin asked breathlessly, looking up at her.

"Yeah," Rachel said. She was also breathing hard. "A lot of trouble."

"Still no fair?"

"Nope," Rachel agreed.

"Okay," Calvin agreed. He sat up and reached for his belt buckle, loosened it, and dropped his dress pants to his ankles. He kicked them away and hopped back on the bed. "See," he said, "now you can't say I'm not being fair. I'm down to boxers, so how's that! Can't say I'm being unfair now!" He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Yes, I can!"

Rachel lunged for him again, and Calvin laughed as he tried to get away without trying very hard. The two teens wrestled, grunting and panting. They kept trying to tickle each other, but the game began to become less about that and more about grabbing the other person, touching them, feeling them. Calvin, trying to do that, ended up grabbing one half of Rachel's ass.

Something changed around then. The wrestling became more competitive, more physical, and much less verbal. The two teens played the game, continuing to mess around, but Calvin found himself running his hands through her hair, 'accidentally' sliding the shoulder straps off her dress. She was feeling his muscles again, and when they rolled around, playing together like a couple of kids, she had to be able to feel the rock-hard boner Calvin had inside his boxers. Rachel also grabbed Calvin's ass, something he instantly realized he couldn't get enough of.

"I'm not being fair," Rachel said.

"Why not?" Calvin asked.

"Because you don't have any clothes where I'm tickling you."

Calvin stared at her. He was lying on top of her, and somehow they'd wound up basically in missionary position. Right there, ready to go. Calvin stared at her, she stared at him. It was now or never. Calvin went for broke and kissed her.

As he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, she uttered a surprised sound, almost a yelp. For a moment Calvin was afraid- terrified, actually- that it had gone wrong at the last second somehow. But Rachel didn't push him away. Calvin felt her stiffen, then relax, and she closed her eyes. It was a strange thought, an irrelevant thought, but Calvin felt himself thinking that her lips were softer than he'd expected somehow… just like Andre's had been back on February 14th.

Amazing. One impulse decision, spoken as a joke, led to him and Andre kissing. They'd wanted to know what it would be like for each of them. And now, another spur-of-the-moment choice and this was happening. This. Calvin couldn't think of the last time his heart had been going this fast.

Rachel and Calvin made it out to be a joke, like they were kidding around, but some of the nervousness and awkwardness was back briefly as they worked to get her out of that beautiful blue dress. When the dress had joined the rest of the discarded clothes, they started wrestling again, playing around with only underwear on. Calvin's hands started to wander a bit, but his eyes- they'd been wandering all night. He was going to be dead soon. He'd never gotten a chance like this in his life. Calvin had heard once that women looked unbelievably beautiful to men going into battle. Because they knew they might die soon, life took on an intensity for those men that no one else could know. That didn't mean Rachel didn't look good, though…

Calvin's mind raced as the two teens played around. He found himself remembering every time he had looked at Rachel and been interested. Every time he'd glanced at somewhere on her, or at all of her, and liked what he'd seen. He'd never been willing to date her, not after he'd become friends with Andre. It would have been too awkward. But that didn't mean he hadn't taken a look at Rachel's ass or chest now and then. Now, though, he was looking all he wanted, and he'd never been so turned on.

Rachel had to feel that iron rod in Calvin's pants. Certainly she had to see it after his boxers disappeared. They were around his ankles, and then they were gone. Rachel's underwear went missing as well, though Calvin was pretty sure he'd had something to do with that.

"Cal, you're naked," Rachel said at one point between bouts of giggling.

"You just noticed?," Calvin replied, laughing. "So, you like what you see?"

"Yeah, I do."

Rachel took his face in her hands and kissed him, which he assumed meant she approved of… something. Time to keep playing with her. Calvin's new struggle was trying not to get too excited and come in the middle of all this. As much fun as he was having, he didn't want that to happen. Not yet.

"Come on, sit up," Rachel said to him suddenly, and Calvin obediently sat up, his legs over the side of the bed, feeling both awkward and surprisingly comfortable like this, his penis sticking up between his legs, making it obvious what kind of mood he was in. Calvin couldn't have helped that if he'd wanted to.

"So, I'm sitting up," Calvin said with a laugh. "Is there something I should know?"

"Yeah." Rachel hesitated, and Calvin realized she was having to try really hard to be more funny about this than awkward. Calvin gave her a little smile, and she seemed encouraged by that. "It's time for more tickling!"

Yet another wrestling match, even more messing around. The two teens grunted, giggled, panted. Their hands started wandering and they were doing more touching than tickling. The game was changing again. It got physical, personal, and Cal had his hands going where they'd always wanted to go with a girl. They wrestled, each of them breathing fast and shallow, and Calvin started to get the upper hand, started getting into position. Calvin grunted as he felt himself brush between Rachel's legs.

"Cal-" Rachel barely managed to say it. She was tense, breathless. Nervous. "Cal, I've-I've never done this before."

Calvin's heart thudded in his chest. He had to make a decision. He was either going for it right now, while he had the chance, or he was backing down.

 _Fuck it_.

"Me neither," Cal answered calmly. The blond knew he needed to get started before she got even more nervous, got indecisive, and then said no. He entered her, slowly pushing himself all the way in. Warmth. She was warm there, and felt amazing. Calvin almost came right then.

"Calvin-"

"Shh," Calvin said. He leaned down and kissed her. "I'll be gentle. I promise." He started thrusting, getting his hips into it. "Don't you trust me?"

"Uh-huh," Rachel gasped.

"It'll be okay," Cal assured her.

"Okay."

She wasn't just nervous, she was scared. But excited, too. There was no mistaking that. Cal leaned down and kissed one of her breasts, then the other. He thrust himself in, then pulled back, in and back, and he reached down and tickled her. "Relax," he said. "Relax. This is fun."

Rachel gasped, and then she moaned. Cal heard someone else grunt, then groan, and realized it was him. He kept moving his hips, eager for more, hoping he'd last long enough to really enjoy this. The two teens were fucking without even a sheet covering them, but Calvin felt like the thermostat was being turned up. He'd felt some amazing physical sensations before, but nothing like this.

Cal had no idea what he was doing, but all he knew was he wanted more. He kept at it, thrusting with his hips. He wanted more. He wanted to fuck Rachel like an animal the whole goddamned night. He was sure as hell gonna try.

The bed made little squeaks now and then, and Rachel and Calvin were both grunting and panting. Rachel grabbed Cal's ass, and he tensed up and almost came right there. Fuck, he liked that. Then she reached up and tickled him under his arms, and Cal laughed. "Hey, do the first thing again," he said. She did, and Cal loved it. He had never felt so sexy and manly and strong. This was unlike anything else he'd ever done. He wanted it to go on forever. After a couple of minutes, though, he knew he'd never make it. No way. Holy shit, he was almost there. Holy shit. Holy shit- shit- _shit_!

Calvin let out a couple of grunts as he came. "Oh, shit," Calvin managed to grunt. "Shit…"

He gave a few more thrusts, then sighed and collapsed on top of Rachel, in love with this moment, with the best goddamn sensation he'd ever had. They both sighed and laughed. All the tension was gone now, leaving only pleasure in its place. Calvin's body felt slick with sweat, and so did Rachel's. Calvin took her in his arms, caressed her back, her shoulders. He kissed Rachel's lips, then her chest, running his tongue over it, circling the nipples.

Then Cal pulled out and rolled off her, flopping down on his back, trying to cool off.

"That was amazing," Rachel said.

"Yeah," Cal replied. "It was."

 **XX**

It was indescribable, lying there like that. It was heaven. Calvin felt like he was ten feet tall and could walk on water. Was there any water around? Fuck, he was thirsty. Speaking of "fuck", though, that was amazing. Going to Rachel's place before Andre's was the best impulse decision Cal had ever made. Actually, deciding to try his luck at getting laid once he got here was. He'd have to calm Andre down once he got over there. Andre was gonna be pissed. But could Cal handle that? Hell yes. Right now he felt like he could handle anything.

Calvin wasn't sure how this whole thing had worked out, but it didn't really matter. Things had escalated in a hurry and Rachel had given Calvin one of the few things he'd really wanted before he died. Calvin was a teen and he had needs, and Rachel had made him very happy. He was grateful she'd let him do this. It was kind of nice that he'd gotten to screw Rachel in particular, the friend he'd known for years. It was nice fucking someone you knew.

Damn, was it hot in here. Cal wasn't sure what else he could do, short of opening a window. Maybe he'd go open a window. But Rachel had just put her head on his shoulder. Crap.

It didn't matter. Calvin had never felt so relaxed. That alone made this entire thing worth it.

"Cal," she sighed. "was that your first?"

"Yeah. I'm amazing, I know."

She laughed, slapping him gently. "You're so funny, Cal. You're just great."

"Great in bed. Come on, say it."

"Well-"

"What? Why not say it? Wasn't that great just now?"

"No, like- it was, just… I mean…"

"What?"

"I don't know."

"Well, how was it?"

"I mean, it was fun, like… I just didn't think…" she laughed. "Wow, Cal."

"Yeah," Cal agreed grinning back at her. "Wow."

Privately, Cal was a little disappointed in himself. That had been pretty quick, all things considered, and he'd always had some idea you were supposed to last longer than that. But he was new at this. And more importantly, so was Rachel. She was probably gonna remember him as this amazing, unbelievably hot guy forever after this. Ha, wouldn't that be great?

They lay there like that for a few minutes, coming back down, trying to catch their breath again. Cal looked at himself, at Rachel. He admired himself, and her, in a way he had never been able to before. He was proud of himself. Goddamn, he was proud. This had started with the two of them awkwardly playing around, and it had escalated into something much, much better. No question about it.

Rachel reached up and started playing with strands of Calvin's blond hair, many of which were dampened with sweat. He responded by reaching over to stroke her hair. They talked softly about intimate things, and it was nice how comfortable they both seemed to be. All the tension had been taken care of by a good fuck.

After his heart-rate finally slowed back to normal, Cal tickled Rachel a little, just under her ribs. She immediately started laughing as she tried to protect herself. She tried to roll away from him, but forgot how close she was to the edge. Cal caught her before she could go off the edge, and wound up grabbing one of her breasts in doing so. They looked at each other for a moment, and Cal leaned in and kissed her.

 **XX**

The last few minutes had been extremely exciting, enjoyable, and nerve-wracking. Going from being friends with Cal Gabriel to having sex with him on Prom night was quite a change, but the way it felt, lying beneath Cal, feeling him moving inside her, was… incredible. Rachel found herself quite glad that her parents were out, that they had the house to themselves, because two hormone-driven teenagers were not the quietest thing in the world. All this grunting and laughing and groaning would definitely have been noticed if Mom or Dad were here.

It would have been hard to explain. Two teenagers having sex sounded pretty much like what it was. Had Mom and Dad been here, they might have asked what was going on. Seriously, thank God her parents were out and she and Cal could just have sex. He was probably at least as nervous as she was, and worrying about the parents hearing would have just made it worse, and taken the fun out of it. Instead, they could safely try this out and enjoy themselves.

Calvin was really good at this. Rachel was amazed. She had thought about Cal sometimes, and in her wilder fantasies she'd wondered what he looked like naked. Now, she was lying beneath him in her own bed, smelling his minty breath, his deodorant, his sweat, feeling that delicious rubbing as he screwed her. He was good at this. He was so good at this.

Rachel had been grabbing onto Cal's biceps and shoulders, feeling his remarkably strong muscles, and holding onto his back. The best was grabbing his ass, though. Whenever she did, Calvin made this weird face and grunted, and then he'd laugh and ask her to do it some more.

It was hot and awkward, exciting and scary, amazing and nerve-wracking. Rachel had never done this before, and they hadn't planned this at all. They'd just started playing around and now hormones were doing the work. While Calvin went at it, he'd tickle Rachel sometimes, and she'd respond in kind. It somehow kept them both relaxed, kept them smiling and having fun.

Rachel laid her head back, gasping as Cal thrusted himself into her, drew back, and thrusted again. That was him. He was inside her, rubbing, making her feel like she had died and gone to heaven. They had said how it worked in Sex Ed. They had never said how it felt. How absolutely amazing boys could make you feel. God, this felt great.

Cal was probably screwing her with more enthusiasm than skill, but that was okay. Rachel was enjoying it all the same. She was glad they'd finally done this. All their little moments of tension and the occasional awkward bout of flirting had led to having sex on Prom Night. Years of unspoken interest and want had built up into a few daring moves by each of them. They'd finally gotten bold and done it. Rachel would have preferred they gone on some dates first, but… oh, did this feel amazing.

This was Rachel's first acquaintance with sex. A lanky, pale, lean-but-muscular boy was screwing her in her bed, going at it quite happily. Rachel lay there, legs apart, letting Cal have his fun, and having plenty of fun herself.

The bedroom door-

It was open. Rachel didn't care.

No one was home beside them.

The two teens having sex on the bed? Nevermind them. They're just having fun.

Cal was grunting, thrusting into her. He smelled, looked, felt incredible.

Rachel had never done this before. She'd never let a boy do this before. She regretted not dropping more hints and telling Cal she was interested.

Then, with a few final thrusts, Cal gave a happy-sounding grunt and collapsed on top of Rachel just like last time, and this time he lay there like he didn't want to move. He was sweaty and warm. Rachel felt kind of happy about him lying there on top of her. It felt safe. Calvin was a nice boy, and he made love like a nice boy. It felt amazing, lying here like this.

"That was awesome," he said, sighing. Calvin nuzzled Rachel's neck, kissed her jaw. "That was awesome. Okay, say I'm great. Come on, say I'm great at this. After two, you gotta admit I'm great at this."

Rachel laughed a little. "You're amazing, Cal."

"Thanks." Calvin kissed her neck. "You're awesome."

"Thanks," Rachel said.

"You know, I think I like Prom night."

"Yeah, I know, right?"

"This would be awkward to explain if your Mom and Dad came home right now."

"They better not!" Rachel laughed.

"Yeah, I hope not, too." Calvin snickered.

Cal pulled out of her, and Rachel looked at him as he lay down there beside her. He was really good-looking. Definitely on the lean side, and nowhere near as muscular as Brad Huff or Charlie Jenkins or somebody like that. But that was okay. Rachel liked Cal's looks all the same. It was hard to believe so many girls could have passed him up all this time. It was hard to believe Rachel, who'd gotten little butterflies in her stomach right from the first time she saw Cal with his shirt off at the pool, had passed him up. He looked really good.

He caught her gazing and winked, and Rachel blushed. Cal reached for her, and she let him draw her to him. It was probably a gesture he'd gotten from some movie ( _Or from Andre_ , Rachel thought bitterly, wishing for the thousandth time that dark-haired boy didn't have such an influence on Cal) but Rachel liked it anyway. She put her head on his shoulder again, watching the rise and fall of his pale chest. She could see right down him, and it wasn't a bad view. Cal didn't give himself fair credit for his looks. He didn't give himself fair credit for anything.

Even with the way he demanded feedback on his 'performance' under the guise of playfulness, Cal was worried and insecure. He needed to hear her tell him he'd done well. It wasn't like Rachel thought Cal had no self-esteem at all. It wasn't that. He just doubted himself a lot. Way more than he deserved.

They talked quietly for a little while, and Rachel found she was really enjoying that, the intimacy, the way they actually seemed completely comfortable for once, talking one-on-one. Cal talked, then she talked. Sometimes neither of them did. Rachel hadn't planned on letting Cal screw her this evening. Losing her virginity to a friend hadn't been on the calendar for Prom Night. But it had happened anyway, and Rachel found herself feeling hopeful. Maybe Cal would quit hanging out with Andre so exclusively, now that he had a girl he was intimate with. Maybe he'd listen to Rachel more, and find some other friends, more than just one friend no one else really liked.

Maybe they'd get to do this again. Rachel found herself hoping they would.

It was nice to hope. Right now, that was easy to do.

Then the clock downstairs began chiming for 11:00PM, and Cal jumped. "Holy shit," he said, and he laughed. "What was that? Is that a clock?"

"Yeah, Cal, it's 11," Rachel said, laughing as well.

She hoped Cal would lie back down and they'd get to talk some more, but he got up and started hurrying around the room, grabbing for his clothes.

"What's wrong?"

"I gotta go, sorry," Cal said. "I told Andre I'd be over after Prom. He's expecting me. Fuck, he's gonna be pissed. I forgot it was this late. Sorry. I mean- I promised. I just gotta go."

Cal was quite a sight, distractedly hunting around the room naked, trying to find his clothes. Rachel would have enjoyed the view more, except she was confused and disappointed. Andre, of course it was Andre. It was always Andre. She had never liked him, never liked how angry and confrontational he always was, never liked how Andre had gotten a surprisingly strong grip on Cal in an incredibly short amount of time.

Now, even after she and Cal had finally taken things further, finally done more than drop a few hints and have some awkward tension here and there, Andre was stealing Cal from her. Rachel had felt good before, but now she just felt used and cheated. The blond would probably go and tell Andre all about it, too.

No, no, he wasn't like that. She knew him. Cal was very private, and he wasn't some big macho guy or anything. He wasn't gonna tell the whole world. Right? It seemed like it made sense. Even so, Rachel was reluctant to ask for a promise on that, because she didn't want to put Cal in that position. Wow. He was rushing off right after they had sex, and still, she was thinking of him, trying to be nice to him. Well, he was a really nice guy. Even if he was best friends with Andre.

Cal hurriedly pulled on his boxers, his dress pants and the white t-shirt. He got the white dress shirt back on, clumsily buttoning it up, missing two buttons or three. Then he just grabbed for the black jacket and then dropped it again as he fought to get the leather shoes back on.

"Hey, so, can I use your phone? I need to call Andre so he can come get me," Cal said.

Any air of romance or intimacy was gone. He was all business now, all focused on getting out of here and seeing Andre. The change in his voice, his expression, his body language, made Rachel feel even more let down than before.

"Do you have to leave, Cal?" she found herself asking.

Cal looked up at her, and he must have seen the confusion on her face, the disappointment, because he came over to her and kissed her gently. He held the kiss for several seconds, then broke it and gathered up the blankets and pulled them over Rachel, up to her neck. He repositioned the pillows, then looked at her.

"So can I use your phone?"

"Yes. Downstairs, near the kitchen."

"Thanks." Cal kissed her again, then smiled at her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

The dance had been fun, but the sex had been amazing. Together, it had made up the best night of Rachel's life. Calvin had been a nice, pleasant, considerate boy for as long as Rachel had known him, but tonight, he'd been better than she'd ever seen him. He'd been himself, but he'd also seemed content, like there was nothing else on his mind, and he'd been a great dancing partner.

It was nice seeing Calvin relax and step out of his shell just a little bit. Messing around, playing those kid games, had been fun. It had been a surprise to both of them that it led where it did, but then, was it that much of a surprise?

Rachel wondered. She had suddenly invited Calvin inside, feeling distinctly nervous as she did so. Calvin had accepted the invitation but had seemed similarly nervous. They'd both felt awkward and uncertain, and all that had to have come from somewhere. Maybe they'd both wanted the same thing from the start, but had been afraid of getting rejected if they'd gone straight for it.

Things had turned out just fine. Much, much better, in fact. Rachel didn't regret a thing. Calvin had been unbelievable.

She was unhappy that Cal chose to leave so suddenly, but that kiss and the way he'd tucked her in made a lot of it better. Her dress and clothes still strewn about the room, Rachel relived the whole night, again and again, and her mind particularly focused on the indescribable pleasures of letting Calvin Gabriel screw her two times.

He'd been the same in bed as he was everywhere else: sensitive, surprisingly funny, and better than he gave himself credit for. Rachel spent the night dreaming of him. Her favorite dream out of all the ones she experienced was the one that involved a sunny day on a tropical island, Cal, and not a lot of clothes on either of them.

Resting under the covers, Rachel slept soundly. She had never felt so safe or so relaxed. The only thing that could have made it better was if Calvin had been there beside her.

 **XX**

Andre paced the floor of the kitchen, in the absolute darkness of his house. His parents were asleep and it was after eleven at night, and Cal still hadn't shown up. Maybe the blond should have had one of those cell phones. It sure would have been nice to be able to call him right now. He'd thought about calling the Gabriel house, but Cal's parents knew that Cal was supposed to be staying the night over here. If he'd deviated from the plan, Cal must have had some kind of reason.

 _But where the fuck is he? Why isn't he fucking here? Why did he fucking lie to me_?

It was hard to admit, but this was unnerving. Andre had no use for people, and they had no use for him. He hated almost everyone and everything. But Andre needed someone he could trust. Even he had privately wished for a best friend, a chance at actually having a little fun in his shitty life. Cal had come along and given him that, and now… now Andre had no idea what as happening. He'd been worried about this Prom thing from the beginning. He hated letting Rachel take Cal away and have him all to herself for hours while Andre was stuck working at the pizza joint.

What had gone wrong? Had Rachel gotten Cal to break his promise somehow? Well, of course it was that bitch's fault Cal wasn't here. Andre knew there was no way Cal had just gone home and broken their plans for the evening. No way would he lie and fuck over his best friend like that with the best and last day of their lives so close.

Right?

"Where the fuck is he?" Andre hissed.

He turned on a light in the kitchen and started hunting for the goddamn school phone book, sponsored as always by those stupid assholes on the football team. He dug it out from between a couple Yellow Pages books and began flipping through so fast that he tore a page out. Barely restraining himself from screaming in frustration, Andre continued to work his way to "L". He was gonna call over there, and if Rachel had turned Cal against him by sucking his cock, he was gonna commit his first murder early. He'd steal one of Chris' guns, drive over there to her house, and-

BRIIIING!

 _Fucking CHRIST!_

Andre jumped a foot in the air and dropped the phone book. He reached for the phone and yanked it off the wall. "Yeah, what?" he demanded, knowing that if it was Cal, he'd understand. If it was anyone else calling at this hour, they could go fuck themselves.

"Easy, Andre," Cal said through the phone. "Easy."

"Where the fuck are you, man?" Andre half-shouted. Then he was shouting. "I thought you'd be here! You better not have lied to me, man, because I'll-"

"Andre, easy-"

"Don't you tell me SHIT until I know where you are!"

"You're gonna wake up your parents!"

"Fuck 'em!"

"Goddamn it, Andre, calm down! I mean it! I'll explain everything but you gotta shut up!"

Andre took in a breath. He was ready to explode. If Cal thought he was mad right now, the blond hadn't seen anything yet. Andre was ready to murder the whole fucking world, and now the friend who was supposed to be helping him do it was blowing him off two days before?

But no one could speak to Andre and reach him like Cal could. He was the smartest, the most understanding, the truest friend that Andre had ever known in his life. Andre trusted Cal so much that Cal could speak to Andre at any time, and Andre would listen without hesitation.

Even now, when Andre felt betrayed and, though he'd never admit it, hurt, he stopped and let the breath out and listened.

"I need you to come and get me."

"And why the fuck should I do that?" Andre demanded.

"Because you're the best friend I've ever had."

"All right," Andre sighed. He knew Cal was probably using that status, manipulating him, but Andre was pleased and calmed by those words anyway. "Well, where are you? You better not be at Rachel's place, because I'll fucking-"

"That's exactly where I am, Andre. Yell at me when you pick me up. I'll be outside."

Then he hung up.

Andre stared at the phone in disbelief as the dial tone sounded.

 **XX**

Cal stepped out onto the porch, taking in a breath and letting it out. He loved the feel of the warm night air. It wasn't summer, not just yet, but it would be soon, and it was a great part of the year. Winter was behind you, but it wasn't as brutally hot as summer could be.

Of course, summer meant girls wearing less clothes, and Cal was always a fan of that. Even if he could never do anything about it, never did a thing to follow up or act on his interest, he was a fan.

Well, he'd actually done pretty damn well tonight. Holy shit, talk about an impulse decision. Literally because he'd gotten a hard-on from looking at Rachel in the limo, Cal had decided to see her to her door. Then to her bedroom door. Then to her bed. That had been amazing, fucking amazing. Cal giggled to himself as he realized he'd lived every teenage guy's dream, getting to fuck a girl without having to buy her dinner and take her on a bunch of dates first.

Did that make him just like Brad Huff and Charlie Jenkins? Was he like all those macho assholes because he'd impulsively decided to try his luck at getting laid?

No. Cal considered it, then rejected it. He might have had physical wants and desires like any guy did, but that did not make him just like those motherfuckers at school. He hated them. They were going to pay through the nose on Tuesday. Everyone would pay. Fucking EVERYONE.

Cal's tuxedo had lost its neatly-pressed image. He looked pretty rumpled now. The bowtie was missing, too. Cal was gonna get charged for that when he returned it tomorrow, but whatever. Maybe he wouldn't even return it. Fuck those people. Let them have the nerve to charge his parents for a stupid fucking tuxedo after Zero Day went down. Let them try and have that kind of nerve.

Man, Andre was not gonna be happy about this. And Rachel was going to… Cal had no idea. She wasn't gonna be mad, no. She'd looked almost heartbroken at Cal leaving. She'd probably wanted Cal to stay the night with her, and if he had, Cal almost definitely would have gotten more sex out of it. But even that wasn't worth being unfair to Andre.

Calvin had pushed this far enough and would now have to apologize to his best friend. Rachel… it was gonna be awkward dealing with her on Monday, assuming Cal even bothered to show up for classes. She probably was thinking that Cal was starting to fall in love with her, or that he at least wanted to start dating after this.

There had been no way to explain it to her. There was never going to be.

Cal had not fallen in love tonight. He hadn't reconsidered on dating Rachel, though that probably would have been possible if he'd really wanted to in the time he'd known her. There had been no way for him to date someone who didn't like Andre. And if Cal couldn't do that, no way could he love someone who didn't like Andre. No fucking away.

Rachel would never understand, and it would have hurt her a lot if Cal had told her. But tonight had been purely physical. A chance for finally getting to have sex had come along, and Cal had impulsively taken it. He'd broken suddenly from the fixed plan for the evening and decided to screw the girl he'd known for a couple years now. There was no reason for it besides the awesome feeling Calvin had in his balls. Shit, they were throbbing so bad he wasn't sure if he could walk.

Was he a bad guy for trying to enjoy himself before he died? Cal didn't think so. He was a teenage male and he wanted to have sex, and he'd gotten one single chance to do it before Zero Day. It was actually pretty understandable that he'd taken the chance. Rachel would never, ever get it, but that could not be helped. Cal felt bad for how much he'd deceived her all this time, and now, he felt worse at having fucked her and given her all these silly ideas he knew she would come up with as to why he'd done it. Because her picture of him did not allow for "Cal was horny and wanted to get laid". She thought he was some hopeless fucking romantic.

Maybe he had been, once. It was hard to tell. Cal was less than forty-eight hours away from shooting himself. He didn't care about any romantic bullshit ideas. He wanted payback, he wanted revenge. He wanted to repaint the halls of Iroquois High School with the blood of his classmates, with the blood of everyone who'd ever gotten in his way. Set against that, whatever silly notions Rachel had about Cal and how his mind worked were beneath Cal's notice. He was flattered that she really did find him attractive, and appreciated her allowing him to get laid before he died.

But the fact was- and this was a little hard to admit, even to himself- that Rachel was nothing special to Calvin. She was a nice girl, kind and considerate, and she looked great out of that dress. She was a great lay, too, but that was it. Doing this had been a form of relief, relaxation, enjoyment. It had allowed Calvin to check an item off his imaginary bucket list. Had any other girl- at least, any other girl Calvin found attractive at all- offered him the same opportunity Rachel had, Calvin would have taken it the same way

Rachel, though- she'd convince herself all kinds of silly ideas about what this had been. A cynical, crude Calvin Gabriel, who deep down just wanted to fuck like every other guy did and had used her like so many other guys would have- that didn't fit her mental image of him. The sex had just been for fun, but Calvin knew Rachel would think this meant something.

Headlights were coming up the road, and sure enough it was Andre's 1989 Pontiac Grand Am. Andre was gonna be pissed, all the more so when he learned what Calvin had been doing here at Rachel's house. Well, this was Calvin's problem. He'd deal with it, like he always did when Andre got mad about something with him. But Rachel… she'd have to handle shit on her own. Calvin could have told her "Fucking is fucking, it isn't love, and _this_ sure as hell wasn't" but he didn't want to be needlessly cruel. Let her enjoy her happy, naïve thoughts about what this had meant, as long as they lasted. She and the rest of the human race would be getting their wakeup call soon enough.

 **XX**

Andre sat there behind the wheel, fuming, as he waited for Cal to come off the porch. The blond stood there messing with his fucking dress shirt for a minute, then walked over. He was carrying a black dress jacket instead of wearing it, and even in the dark the clothes looked messed up. The damn button-down shirt was not even really tucked in! Half tucked, half-untucked, no tie or bowtie… Cal didn't dress up much, but he knew how to, and this was just-

"Hey, Andre!" Cal said brightly, opening the passenger door and getting in. "So what's up? Sorry for-"

"You just hold it," Andre ordered. He put the Pontiac's console-mounted gearshift back to D and whipped the car into a U-turn, running up onto some prick's lawn in the process because the fucking Grand Am couldn't turn that great.

"That's someone's front yard you just drove in, Andre."

"Fuck 'em!" Andre shouted.

"Okay."

"You better believe it is! You scared the shit out of me tonight! I didn't know if you were alive or dead, or what! How did you do this to me? Why? _Why_ , Cal? You fucking lied to me and you've NEVER lied to me! Why'd you do this? _Why_?"

"Well-"

" _I'm not done_!" Andre yelled. "I wanted to hang out with you some more, show you the setup I have with my gear for May 1st, and you fucking went and hung out with Rachel! You blew me off for her! You know I can't stand that bitch! She's nobody! How can you possibly fucking justify fucking doing this to me two fucking days- not even two days- before Zero Day?! HOW?!"

"Andre, you're angry."

"YOU BETTER FUCKING BELIEVE I'M MOTHERFUCKING ANGRY!" Andre screamed. He took a turn much too sharply, and he cut into traffic without signaling in the process. Some cars behind them honked indignantly, and Andre held up a fist towards the rear window, popping his middle finger up. "CHICKENSHITS!"

"You're gonna fucking kill us, Andre. Come on, pull over in the K-Mart lot for a second."

"Why? What, you wanna walk home? It can be arranged!"

"No, just pull over. Come on. It won't take long."

Andre debated it, but he ultimately did as Cal asked. He pulled into a remote spot off to the side of the darkened parking lot and put the car in park. As soon as he did, he turned to Cal and started shouting again.

"So? What'd you do? I'm not used to you blowing me off like this. What happened?"

"I kinda fucked Rachel tonight."

"You WHAT?" Andre shouted. "That's why you left me hanging like that? You went and fucked _Rachel_? You blew me off for- for her? So you could go and fuck her?"

"Andre, it's not- I just saw an opportunity, and I seized it."

"We had plans!" Andre yelled. "You get that? Did you forget or something?"

"I didn't forget."

"So then why'd you pick her over me?" Andre shouted. "Why?"

"I didn't-"

"You did! You decided it'd be more fun spending time with her than with me, and- she is not worth it!"

Andre had never really known how to express it when he felt hurt. Not without looking weak, at least, or thinking he'd look weak, which, to Andre, was the same thing.

"Andre, this isn't like that."

"I'll tell you how it is! You went to the Prom and actually had a good time, and you went home with her and fucked her! You think she's on your side or something? Do you? You think she understands you or gives a fuck? Nobody gives a fuck, Cal! Nobody! Definitely not her. She isn't worth it. And you better not lose sight of the shit that matters because this bitch put out for you one time."

"It wasn't one time, Andre. It was twice."

"Well, congratu-fucking-lations!" Andre burst out. "Good for you, motherfucker! You lost your virginity two days before you're gonna die, good for you!"

"Thanks, I guess."

"I mean it, Cal, you better not lose sight of the fucking objective over this. You remember what we said? Do you remember what we said? No dating! None! Total commitment to the mission!"

"Andre, we're still not dating. We just had sex a couple times."

"God-damnit!" Andre shouted. "Okay, so we should've made that a rule too, I guess!"

Calvin shrugged. "Why? I mean, as long as you're not dating… we're not monks or something…"

" _It should've been a rule_!" Andre yelled again. "Damn it! Fucking _Christ_! I cannot _believe_ you did this to me, man!"

"Andre, I'm sorry I blew you off. I am. Come on-"

"I think you've done plenty of _that_ tonight!" Andre cut in.

Cal hesitated. "Well- yeah. It felt great."

"Good for you, dude."

After staring at Andre a moment, the blond burst out laughing. His easygoing, almost childish sense of humor came quite naturally to him, though he didn't reveal it to many people. To Andre, though, Cal always gave his best. He was friendly, trusting… and he knew just how to wind Andre up and calm him down. Andre knew that, and tried all the time to prove it wasn't true. But Cal knew him too well. And while he wanted to keep on shouting, Andre felt his glare starting to give. He started to chuckle, but he kept coughing and clearing his throat to hide it, and stubbornly refused to admit he was easing up on his only friend.

"All right," Andre said. "Okay. But the Army of Two is what counts here. You got that?"

"Yes, sir, ready to kill on Tuesday morning, sir!"

"What'd I say the last time you started talking like you were in the fucking military?"

"You calmed down, Andre."

"Eventually." Andre thought for a few moments. "You know what? I bet that cunt put out because she- I don't think she knows what's coming. If she did, she'd have ratted us both out. But maybe she subconsciously knows. And she put out because she was hoping you'd ditch me for her. Maybe, maybe some part of her was like 'If I let him fuck me, he'll want more, and he won't- he'll ditch Andre like I want him to.'"

"This isn't a love triangle, Andre."

"No, no, I mean- she hates me. She fucking hates us being friends. You _know_ she does, dude. And so, maybe she let you fuck her because she thinks if she starts putting out, you'll spend more time with her and less with me. I really think that whore would do that just to get at me."

"You really think she'd do that?"

"Yeah. I really do."

"Well, good thing I don't value her like I value you. That was fun, you know, with her. But we're gonna change the world, man. I'd have to be really immature to think fucking matters more than that."

It was classic Cal. He was the philosopher of the Army of Two, the thinker. Andre was the tactician, the straightforward planner. They both were good with the tactics and details of this, actually- how else could they possibly have done so much to be ready in just a year? But even if Cal romanticized things and thought way too much into stuff, but he came up with these eloquent observations that you couldn't help but be impressed by.

"Thanks, and, I think that's true," Andre replied after a minute. "But you should have called me. I would've-"

"Andre, if I'd called you and told you what I was gonna do, you would've yelled at me. You would've told me not to fuck her and to get out of there."

"I yelled at you anyway. And you _deserved_ it- don't even _try_ denying that."

"You've yelled at me before. I think I'm getting used to it."

Andre sighed. "Was there no way you could've told me _any_ thing?"

Cal held up his hands. "Andre, I didn't plan this. Really. It just happened. I decided I'd see her to her door, she let me inside, we went up to her room and started messing around. Then we ended up-"

"Fucking."

"Yeah."

"How was it?"

"What?"

"I said how was it?"

Cal smiled. "You wanna know how it was?"

"Well?"

Cal was grinning now. "It was awesome."

"Was it worth it?"

"Absolutely."

"Well, good," Andre said, trying to be happy for his friend, even if jealousy for Cal and hate for Rachel were overriding that strongly.

"I, uh, I can think of another way I can prove I didn't plan this."

"You don't need to. I trust you."

Andre said it plainly, but there was emotion in that, strength. Cal noticed it and nodded briefly, recognizing the mutual respect and trust between the two boys. They never lied to each other, never kept secrets. The Army of Two was the most powerful brotherhood in the world.

"Well, I was gonna say this anyway… I mean, I didn't have any condoms, Andre."

"So you just fucked her like- well, why didn't you get any or something?"

"Andre, we kinda just started fucking. I wasn't gonna run down the road to 711."

"And what if you become a dad because you didn't wear anything? Like, what if Rachel gets pregnant because of this?"

Cal started laughing. "Oh, my God, Andre, you actually think I _care_ about that? Fuck it, man. I don't care about anything anymore. Rachel's on her own. She's gonna read way too much into this because that's what she does. I just wanted to have a good time. It was fun but if I got her pregnant that's _her_ fucking problem, not mine."

"You're goddamned right it is," Andre agreed. "Well, you still want to get headed over to my house and everything? Or did getting to fuck Rachel change your plans?"

"It didn't change anything," Cal said. "It was a good time and nothing else. Let's go. I want to spend time with somebody who actually matters."

Andre laughed, pleased and amused. "I bet she'd be _so hurt_ if she could hear you say that, Cal."

Cal laughed right with him. "Who cares?"

* * *

 **A/N: 1-27-2018.**

 **Updated 5-23-2018.**

 **Updated 6-1-2018.**

 **I believe that, although Calvin would have probably never dated Rachel because of the tension between her and Andre- with the resulting fact that Andre would raise hell if Calvin ever did date her- he would likely have taken the chance to have sex with her if the opportunity had presented itself. I'd say he'd be attracted enough to her and, with death so close at hand by Prom night, he would not care what the consequences of unprotected sex with Rachel would be. As he indicates himself, that isn't his problem.**

 **This would be a different experience for Rachel than it would for Calvin, obviously. I found it plausible enough for Calvin to impulsively decide to see Rachel to her door, then go inside with her, then for things to escalate from there. Andre would certainly be furious with Calvin for blowing him off so he could screw Rachel, not to mention jealous of Calvin for having done something he (presumably) hasn't. Whether or not he admits it, Andre is jealous of Rachel for being a competitor for Calvin's time, and he would be especially pissed that Rachel managed to steal Calvin from him- as Andre would see it- so close to Zero Day, when Andre and Calvin have so little time left to plan, to prepare, or to just be friends. But, as I show here, Andre would forgive Calvin, as he always does, after he is done yelling and carrying on. And Calvin, as he always does, would not be flustered or especially bothered by Andre's anger, and would just stay calm.**

 **The name of Tielson High School- in full, Roger Tielson High School- has been carried on the "Zero Day" archive on this site for years, and has been used by many different authors. But with me, it is finally going out of use. calgabriel, a new contributor to the archive, informed me of how to find the long-vanished Zero Day official movie website on the Wayback Machine, which preserves a wide range of websites no longer in existence, or former versions of current websites. The Zero Day movie website was presented as if it was a web page created by the fictional Essex County Sheriff's Department, to provide the public with information on the May 1, 2001 shooting at Iroquois High School in New Stratford, Connecticut.**

 **Because that page, displayed from 2002 to 2004, was the official webpage of the movie and was most definitely created with director Ben Coccio's cooperation and consent, it can be assumed safely that every detail on it is canon. So because I no longer have need for a substitute name for the school, I'll be using the canon name taken off the movie's website from here on in any ZD stories where the name of the school comes up.**

 **I currently have no intention of continuing this story, but I'm not disregarding that possibility, either. I have plenty of other projects to keep me busy, and I had mainly wanted to write a first chapter to show how, with just a few changes, Calvin and Rachel's date on Prom night could easily have deviated from canon.**

 **Reviews are welcome, as always.**


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